This is your chance to stretch your type muscles on a weekly basis. You have one week to create and submit your entry. Anyone may submit a design response to the challenge. You may enter as often as you wish. Post anytime. Critiques and comments are welcome throughout the game, from participants and spectators alike. Smack talk is encouraged.

As with any street battle, there is no panel of judges and no prize — only the ability to call yourself the best on the block.

Though I also really like these:
we are the weirdos – beejay
Chromotherapy – dervish7
Lake Kizaki – fbrccn
The Creek Drank the Cradle – rsmallbone
Penning Trap – Batlock (a bit overdone in my opinion, but I still really dig the concept)

I'm going to disagree with your top pick -- mostly out of convenience. I haven't gone searching for the others yet.

I happen to like EnergonCube's cover . I don't see it as "slapping type over an image." While the overall design is clean, there's a lot of tension being created by the sinking, vertical type against the horizontal grain created by the wood planks. Add to that a good use of scale. Overall, EnergonCube has achieved a good sense of foreboding.

While it's not the best here, it certainly isn't the worst. Just because some of these covers don't agree with your personal taste, doesn't mean you have to slam them. You're entitled to your opinion. But, if you're going to offer critism, provide some constructive feedback.

InterwebNoise: Correct me if I'm wrong, but the way I read it Deville liked EnergonCube's cover, and a couple others, but is dissing the majority of the submissions. Which, agreed, is kind of an easy stance to take. But what the hell :)

these covers have some astounding photos and some really delicious titles.
some of my favourites till now, in random order:

think secret by anunoriginaldesign, for type, title and concept;
it couldn't happen here by thunter, for title, photo edit and title design;
artificial imagination by cdn, for concept and photo;
the devil has my double, by darkshipp, for title, photo edit, concept and font;
we are the weirdos, by beejay, for photo edit, concept, title and font;
office fight by batlock, for photo edit, title and title design;
the profession of arms by teaim, for title and photo;
hilli by pennandink, for photo and font;
robertson barracks by ineedsubstance, for photo edit and title design;
university hospital by pyros, for title design;
bluebell morning by hexasketch, for photo, title and title design;
symphony no 79 fbrccn, for concept;
why we fight by jos buivenga, for photo, title, font and colour;
waverly school district 145 by jared benson, for font and additional graphics;
rivalry by abstractmullet, for concept, title and title design;
timeline of tuberous sclerosis by queneau, for concept and title design;
spear by nick job, for title design;
tall tales & legends by justin childress, for concept;
dear mother by heathink, for cover colour;

I'm just going to leave everyone else to pick specifics, because so many of these are excellent that it would take me all night to pick out through my favourites! There were at least 10 books here that I probably would have bought on impulse based on the covers.

@Deville: I don't think it says anywhere that people need to be practicing designers to join in! I know that impromptu crits and mild abuse are part and parcel, but there's really no need to get upset about it. It's just a bit of fun.

Really liked something about boicozone’s Gorgon, and WOWBROW’s Electronic Commerce Regulations 2002 is great for it’s application of a somewhat incongurous image to such a precise style replication.

Much else made my list, but going over it again, they all either had something small that bugged me (the text at the top, and leaving in the darker bar at the bottom of Waverley School District 145, for example), or didn’t reach a level of harmony (like my own entry, I guess).